I have a special needs child.
It's tough to admit that because I've been in denial a long time. On the surface Zane looks normal. He has a speech delay and that's easy to explain to people. His behavior is much tougher to explain. We don't have a definitive explanation why he is the way he is. He's so young that it's difficult to tell what's really going on with him.
When Zane was born I didn't imagine he could be anything but perfect. His adorable dimples & bright blue eyes were and are extremely charming. The Lord has reminded me that he's not perfect over & over but being "perfect" is not what is important. This amazing blessing of Zane is more than I could ever deserve.
We had Zane's annual IEP meeting at school to discuss what progress he's made on his goals and to set new goals for the next year. The biggest thing Joe & I learned at this meeting is that Zane's behavior is holding him back and getting in the way of his learning. He spends the majority of his time fighting his teachers while he's at preschool instead of learning.
His teacher, Jeanne, suggested that Oppositional Defiant Disorder was one explanation for some of his behaviors and she believes we should research O.D.D. to see if it offers any answers. Zane is the most defiant, rebellious, strong-willed, difficult 3 yr old I've ever met. I guess it would be nice to know there is an reason, even if O.D.D. is not an easy answer.
1 comment:
Hi Nicole. This is Beth. Karen sent me your blog link! I hope that you guys are all doing great! I read this one on Zane and ODD. Having a degree in education and working in Special Ed in the Park Hill School district for 2 years I have some experience with kids with this diagnosis. My advice to you would be to fight this label with everything you've got!! Children that have this disorder are usually very intelligent, easily bored, and usually don't have simple boundaries that are easy for them to understand. My experience with kids that have this label is that teachers see it and automatically see that kid as a trouble maker. Those kids are constantly having to prove themselves because they are suspect whenever anything goes wrong in the classroom, and kids pick up on that and will blame them for things they didn't do. Also, there is nothing medically that you can do for this disorder. The school district will probably use a special ed. resource room and a teacher aid to assist Zane. However, it's pretty humilating for the child to have an aid following them around. Once a child has this label, it follows them throughout their entire school career. I too, have a child who is difficult so I can understand your frustration. Everyone already wants to label Abby ADHD. And I'm sure you know what it's like to get parenting advice everywhere you go. It's very irritating!! Even my parents give me advice. Telling me to spank Abby. I've tried that and all it does is anger her. It doesn't work. But, I've been reading a book called, Successful Christian Parenting, by John MacArthur. I've really enjoyed it, and it makes me understand Abby a little bit more. I hope that by telling you all this that I've been able to help, and that you don't think that I'm rude!! Let me know if I can help in any other way. I'll be praying for you and Zane. Love, Beth
Post a Comment